This full report is available to download here.
An All-Island Consortium to Foster Educational Neuroscience Research and Practice (AIEN)
Educational neuroscience, sometimes referred to as ‘neuroeducation’ or ‘mind, brain, and education’, is a relatively new multidisciplinary field that aims to bridge the gap between research on brain development, cognitive processes, and real-life teaching and learning experiences. As a research discipline, it can involve researchers from neuroscience, psychology, education, and other related domains depending on the research question. Often the goal of research studies in this area is to better understand what is happening ‘in the background’ to inform teaching and learning strategies.
The field of educational neuroscience is not just the application of neuroscientific methods to explore how we learn but the merging of research across subdomains in many meaningful ways to inform teaching and learning across the lifespan. For example, there is a growing body of educational neuroscience research that demonstrates the need to look at learning needs beyond specific diagnoses (transdiagnostic) and beyond just a focus on ‘deficits’ only (Holmes et al., 2019; Siugzdaite et al., 2020).
An All-Island Consortium to Foster Educational Neuroscience Research and Practice (AIEN) is a co-creative project funded by a Research Ireland New Foundations Grant in partnership with the Department of the Taoiseach, as part of the Shared Island initiative. AIEN invites the voices of researchers, parents, teachers, and policy makers to contribute to the development of this field in Ireland. Through the establishment of an all-island educational neuroscience research hub, we aim to address our first collaborative research questions, form new collaborations, and disseminate co-creative findings. Alongside AIEN researchers, policy makers and practitioners involved in this project include Patricia Davison (Educational Authority Northern Ireland), Thomas Maloney (Teaching Council Ireland), Máirín Ní Chéileachair (Irish National Teachers Organisation), as well as parent and teacher representatives (Celine Mackessy (teacher representative) and Joelle Hendrick (parent representative)).
A longer term goal of the AIEN project is to develop further research initiatives with the expansion of the AIEN network and input from stakeholders across different settings relevant to the broader domain of educational neuroscience (see full report here). We also aim to share ideas to improve practice and inclusion in classroom settings across the island of Ireland.
In this short report, we look at the findings of our first co-creative AIEN project that focuses on the current understanding and management of mind-wandering (a form of inattention) in early classroom settings. This collaborative collection of three research studies explore mind-wandering in the first two years of school. This research agenda was chosen as an initial priority due to a lack of existing research on mind-wandering across the lifespan, in addition to a lack of focus on inattention more broadly in the first two years of school.
A Focus on Mind-wandering in Early Classroom Settings
Studying the nature of mind-wandering in children provides a unique opportunity to explore how heterogeneity and individual differences affect learning, aligning with the 4th United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education. Most research investigating attentional difficulties focuses on ‘trait’ attentional skills that vary across the population (Cherry et al., 2022). Trait measures are typically based on judgments provided by parents or educational professionals, with research exploring the links between high trait inattention and academic achievement, and differences in educationally significant domains between individuals with attentional difficulties and ‘typically’ developing children. While this research has been fruitful, our current project offers a new approach to the role of attention in children’s learning. Here, the emphasis is on attention as a ‘state’ rather than a ‘trait,’ consistent with the nature of attention itself, which is dynamic, context-specific, and malleable. Research on children’s mind-wandering enables us to better understand the role of variability in learning and, ultimately, work towards fostering children’s individual learning potential.
Perspectives from a World Café
Researchers from UCD and QUB hosted a World Café for teachers, parents, researchers and policy makers to come together to discuss the topic of mind-wandering. The aim of the World Café approach is to cultivate an informal, collaborative atmosphere where attendees develop unique insights that incorporate different perspectives, while also highlighting shared experiences and ideas (Prewitt, 2011). The World Café method involves attendees gathering together to discuss key questions while rotating between different discussion tables in a ‘cafe style’ environment (Schiele et al., 2021). During the World Café, attendees discussed four key questions: 1) Would you say mind-wandering is positive or negative for children? 2) How do you understand mind-wandering in relation to learning? 3) How does the home and educational environment influence mind-wandering in the classroom? and 4) Should tackling mind-wandering in the classroom be a priority for educators and, if so, why?
A key point that arose during the World Café was that it can be difficult to recognise mind-wandering in children, especially in this age group (first two years of formal learning), as children may not understand or be aware of their own mind-wandering. Moreover, the term ‘mind-wandering’ had not been familiar to the majority of attendees, especially the teachers and parents. This highlighted the important advantage of the participatory nature of the World Café approach (Löhr et al., 2020). During the World Café, attendees commented on how the experience was insightful and how they had learned more about educational neuroscience, in particular mind-wandering. Findings demonstrated how the World Café can be used as a tool which allows for participants to share knowledge and learn from each other in a non-judgmental, flexible and fluid environment.
Teacher’s Understanding and Management of Mind-Wandering in the Classroom
A series of online focus groups were conducted with primary school teachers, who had experience with children in the first two years of school across the island of Ireland. This meant that participants had worked with Junior / Senior Infants in the Republic of Ireland or Year 1 / 2 in Northern Ireland within the year prior to the focus group. Eight teachers from different schools participated. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the focus group transcripts resulted in four main themes, each with distinct and relevant sub-themes. These themes are: 1) Teachers Conceptualisation of Mind-Wandering, 2) Positive Impacts of Mind-Wandering, 3) Negative Impact of Mind-Wandering, and 4) Barriers in the Support of Mind-Wandering.
It was found that many teachers were initially unfamiliar with the term ‘mind-wandering’, often interpreting it as ‘distraction’ which is a form of inattention that is caused by external factors. Through focus group discussions, teachers began to differentiate between these two concepts and identified various situations where mind-wandering might occur, such as when children are bored, or do not understand the content. Teachers noted that mind-wandering could lead to group-level distraction within the classroom and that their existing strategies to manage distraction, though not specifically designed for mind-wandering, were often used to address this. It was discussed that children who struggle with language comprehension, such as those for whom English is an additional language, might mind-wander due to difficulty in understanding instructions, further disengaging from the lesson.
Mind-wandering can have a negative impact on children’s learning. Teachers reported that it often results in students missing important information, leading to knowledge gaps that hinder their understanding of the curriculum. This challenge is exacerbated by limited resources, such as insufficient support from special education or learning support teachers, making it difficult to address these gaps effectively. Environmental factors like fatigue and hunger, as well as the increased use of technology, also contribute to mind-wandering, complicating its management.
Despite sometimes acting as a barrier to learning, teachers acknowledged several positive influences of mind-wandering. They observed that children who mind-wander might display higher creativity, enabling them to engage deeply with subjects like art and drama and to think innovatively about problems in mathematics. Teachers also suggested that mind-wandering could allow children to process personal worries during class time. Furthermore, mind-wandering can prompt children to explore their interests, occasionally leading to rich, student-led discussions that enhance learning experiences, even though time constraints often limit these opportunities.
Teachers expressed a need for more formal training and resources to better support children and communicate with parents about mind-wandering, recognising its significance in students’ cognitive and emotional development.
Parent’s Understanding and Management of Mind-Wandering in Relation to Homework
Focus groups were also conducted with parents of children in their first two years of school across the island of Ireland. Participants’ children had completed at least 6 months of schooling by March 2024 and were aged between 4 and 6 years old with a balance of both male and female children. The purpose of these focus groups was to explore how parents view and manage their children’s mind-wandering in relation to school tasks. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the focus group transcripts resulted in five main themes: 1) Mind-wandering as a normal, positive element of learning in children, 2) Mind-wandering is more likely to occur in certain circumstances, 3) Children have a tendency to vocalise mind-wandering, 4) Parents approach mind-wandering through trial-and-error, and 5) Parents’ frustrations with mind-wandering arises from time pressure.
Analysis of the focus groups revealed that parents view mind-wandering as a normal and positive element of learning in children; it can even have unique benefits that enhance learning experiences such as promoting creativity and curiosity. Parents described how mind-wandering is more likely to occur in certain circumstances such as when their child is in a distracting or ‘noisy’ environment, when a child has less agency over a task, or when a child’s needs are not met. For example, parents noted how their child ‘mind-wandered’ more when they were hungry, tired, or over-stimulated after school. Similarly, parents mentioned that their child experienced less mind-wandering when they could choose what time they did their homework, as they felt ‘ready’ to do it. Parents highlighted that children usually vocalise their mind- wandering, this was seen as a positive element as it gives parents insight into their child’s thought processes and experiences. Parents emphasised that their children continually spoke about what was on their mind, and that their child would not hesitate to share what they were thinking about with them – this may be a unique element of mind-wandering at this age.
Although parents have received very limited support in the management of mind-wandering, they have developed simple strategies that are effective in keeping their child on task. These strategies were developed through trial-and-error and advice from fellow parents, both in-person and online. Although parents are currently confident in managing their children’s mind-wandering related to school tasks at this developmental stage, parents expressed that they may need more support with this as their child progresses through school, especially when homework becomes more challenging and when time pressures intensify.
The final theme showed how parents only become frustrated by mind-wandering when they are under time pressure, this in turn highlighted that there are many pressures on parents in our modern society. For instance, parents focused attention on how children have tight schedules with many time-tabled after school activities, and children must learn from a young age to “get with the program”. The findings from this study show that more research is needed to further understand mind-wandering in this young age group to determine how best children and parents can be supported, such as understanding when mind-wandering should be encouraged and when a child should be guided to stay on-task.
Future Mind-wandering and Learning Research
Given the striking lack of empirical evidence, children’s mind-wandering is a fruitful area of research where advancements will be valuable and far-reaching — not only in education but also concerning children’s mental health and the growing popularity of mindfulness-based interventions. Several specific areas warrant further investigation:
- Children’s understanding of mind-wandering: Future research should explore young children’s basic understanding of attentional states and mind-wandering. Given that metacognitive skills are still developing in young children, it is essential to establish what they understand about when, and why mind-wandering occurs and its potential detrimental effects. This understanding is crucial as children’s beliefs about mind-wandering could influence how effectively they regulate their learning.
- Factors influencing mind-wandering: The link between mind-wandering and learning in adults has been related to several factors, including working memory capacity, interest in the topic, prior experience, and motivation. These factors have not been thoroughly studied in children. Future research should investigate how these domain-general and domain-specific factors influence mind-wandering and subsequent performance on comprehension or recall tests in children.
- Root causes of mind-wandering: Identifying the root causes of mind-wandering in classroom settings is essential. Potential reasons for inattention include lack of sleep, low mood, lack of interest in the topic, and anxiety. Future work should assess the links between inattention levels (measured by a probe-caught method) and various relevant factors. These factors include classroom environment (e.g., layout, student-teacher relationships, peer relationships), cognitive skills (e.g., executive functions), and indicators of overall mental well-being (e.g., mood).
- Mind-wandering Tools: More formal training is required to better support teachers to employ strategies to keep students on track in formal learning contexts. More resources are also required to support the communication between teachers, parents and children on the topic of mind-wandering, and recognise its positive influence on students’ cognitive and emotional development.
References
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Cherry, J., McCormack, T., & Graham, A. J. (2022). The link between mind-wandering and learning in children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 217, 105367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105367
Holmes, J., Bryant, A., the CALM Team. et al. Protocol for a transdiagnostic study of children with problems of attention, learning and memory (CALM). BMC Pediatr 19, 10 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-018-1385-3
Löhr, K., Weinhardt, M., & Sieber, S. (2020). The “World Café” as a Participatory Method for Collecting Qualitative Data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920916976
Prewitt, V.R. (2011). Working in the Cafe: Lessons in Group Dialogue. The Learning Organization, 18, 189-202.
Schiele, H., Krummaker, S., Hoffmann, P., & Kowalski, R. (2021). The “research world café” as a method of scientific enquiry: Combining rigor with relevance and speed. Journal of Business Research.
Siugzdaite, R., Bathelt, J., Holmes., J. Astle, D. E. (2020). Transdiagnostic Brain Mapping in Developmental Disorders, Current Biology, 30(7), 1245-1257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.078.